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Alfonso Soriano can keep buying cars like this one. I took this picture back in February when the Cubs were at Arizona preparing for Spring Training. Soriano parked his car and let me just say that I wish I could drive this toy.

Before the Dodgers-Cubs game last night, I ran into 2 ex-players. First was the former Mets pitcher Ron Darling. He is now broadcasting games for TBS. He signed a ball for me. It looked like he was in a hurry so I didn’t say much. He started 3 games for the Mets in the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. The Mets won the World Series. Next was Billy Sample. He played mostly for the Texas Rangers back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I know him mostly for his work on MLB.com. He does interviews and once in a while has a show on MLB TV. I always liked seeing him on TV. When I saw him, I came up to him and told him I enjoyed his work. He looked at me and said “Oh thanks” He looked like he was shocked that someone knew him. I got him to sign a ball. Really nice guy. He asked what my name was and if the Dodgers were going to win it. Very friendly. Thanks Ron & Billy !

I was at the game last night. It was great.
I’m so happy. I noticed alot of Cubs fans at the stadium.
They looked depressed by the 9th inning. Next up:
Philadelphia Phillies ! Look for notes and videos later
tonight🙂 Go Dodgers !

It’s currently raining. Not hard. But I hope
the rain goes away. I’m ready for the game. I can’t wait. I
hope we sweep those Cubs and get ready for the Phillies ! I
can’t post much. See ya at the game !🙂

Bill Russell was signing autographs at a card shop here in So-Cal. He was scheduled to sign from 10am/12pm. First autograph was free. I got there at 8:15 am. A small crowd came out. Billy came in on time. I got him to sign a LP Record that I have. It’s a Record of the 1981 Championship Series. Tommy Lasorda has signed it and Bill is the second person to sign it.

It feels good knowing that the Dodgers only need 1 win to advance to the NLCS. Let’s talk about the Cubs… Basically the whole country is rooting for the Cubs. The Media is rooting for the Cubs. The “experts” picked the Cubs to win this series and most of them picked them to win the World Series. So what happened ? 2 main reasons. First reason is that people forget that this Dodgers team is a different team than back in July. This is a team that is showing alot of confidence and having Manny Ramirez on the team doesn’t hurt. Plus all the young guys have matured alot and playing great. We as Dodger fans know who is James Loney, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley and all the young guys. We know that they are very talented and capable of being future superstars (if they aren’t already) We have been following them since they came up in 2006 Plus with the addition of Ramirez, it has brought a new atmosphere in the clubhouse. While the Cubs being in the playoffs is a great story for the media, it doesn’t warrant them to be favorites to win. My second reason for the Cubs troubles is that they are focusing to much on the curse. Are they cursed ? Are they not cursed ? Why even think about it ? Did anyone notice that a Priest was in the Cubs dugout before Game 1 ? When I saw this, I couldn’t believe it. Basically having a Priest in the dugout is telling the world that they believe there is a curse and that there is something wrong in the stadium. I was looking for the video of the Priest in Wrigley Field and I found it…

Crazy huh ? I don’t have anything against the Priest being there. But knowing that there is cameras everywhere and someone will catch this, why even bother ? This is saying that they really believe that they are cursed. It’s in their heads. Shouldn’t have they learned from the Boston Red Sox and the Babe Ruth curse ? It’s all imagination. There is no curse folks. You just haven’t played great in the last 100 years🙂

The Dodgers set club NLDS single-game records last night in runs (7) and walks (8) while tying the team’s NLDS single-game record for homers (3).

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS – With last night’s win, the Dodgers are 3-5 against the Cubs this season. However, all five Dodger losses were by two runs or less, whereas the three Dodger victories were all by three or more runs.

AND THE DODGERS INCH AHEAD… – Not only do the Dodgers have a 1-0 lead in the series, but last night’s win gives them a one-game edge in the 118-year, 2,025-game all-time series. The two franchises first played each other on May 29, 1890 in Brooklyn and since then, the Dodgers have a 1,013-1,012 record.

BEST OF FIVE – The Dodgers have played 11 best-of-five series in their postseason history and have won Game 1 in just three of those series. In all three cases, the Dodgers went on to win the series (the NLCS in 1974, 1978, and 1981). Two other times, the Dodgers overcame a Game 1 defeat to still win the series (the NLCS in 1977 and the NLDS in 1981) and five times they lost the first game and went on to lose the series.

MANNY LONGBALLS – Last night, Manny Ramirez hit his 25th postseason home run and 15 of them have come on the road. Both of those totals are Major League records. He also holds the all-time record for Division Series homers with 11. Ramirez has hit safely in 36 of his last 41 postseason games, with a .344 (54-for-157) average during that span.

HAVING A GRAND OL’ TIME – Last night, James Loney hit the 17th grand slam in NLDS history. It was the third slam in Dodger postseason history and first since Dusty Baker on Oct. 5, 1977 in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Phillies. The only other postseason slam for the Dodgers came the previous night in Game 1 of that series when Ron Cey hit one in the seventh inning off Steve Carlton.

‘PEN IS MIGHTIER – A trio of Dodger relievers pitched 3.0 scoreless innings last night, including Greg Maddux’s first relief appearance since saving Game 5 of the NLCS at San Diego on Oct. 12, 1998. The Dodger bullpen ranked second in the NL this season with a 3.33 ERA behind the Phillies (3.19).

A BIG DAY FOR Ks – On this date in 1953, Carl Erskine struck out a World Series record 14 Yankees in Game 3. Ten years later to the day, Sandy Koufax broke the record with 15 strikeouts over the Yankees in Game 1 of the Fall Classic and exactly two years after that, he fanned 13 Milwaukee Braves on two days rest (including Joe Torre twice) to give him 382 for the season, earning his 26th win and clinching the NL pennant.

FOOTING THE BILLS – Tonight’s starter Chad Billingsley ranked fifth in the NL with 201 strikeouts and seventh with a 3.14 ERA this season. From June 17 through the end of the regular season, he went 12-3 with a 2.78 ERA, which tied him for the most wins in baseball during that period with Mark Buehrle, A.J. Burnett, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and CC Sabathia. At just 24 years of age, Billingsley became the youngest Dodger to notch 16 victories since Ramon Martinez won 17 as a 23-year-old in 1991.

ALL SOLD OUT – Game 3 and 4 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium are officially sold out.

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